Couple toasts 60 years together
FOXTROTTING FOR EVER: Bill and Doreen Beach have been married 60 years today, having met at dance lessons.
A COUPLE who fell in love the moment their eyes met across a dance hall are celebrating their diamond wedding today.
Bill and Doreen Beach, from Newman’s Green in Acton, held a party in Sudbury’s Masonic Hall yesterday for around 60 friends.
They met at dance lessons in Islington in 1950 when Doreen, now 82, saw the man she would spend the rest of her life with.
“I was dancing with someone and I looked across and thought ‘Who is that?’,” she said.
“It was Bill and my stomach hit the ground. It was genuinely love at first sight for both of us.”
Their dancing left an indelible mark on their life together.
“Our courtship and engagement was all done through dancing,” said Bill, 86.
“We went to all the best hotels like The Ritz and The Dorchester with our group, and we got engaged at The Dorchester. We also performed at the Royal Albert Hall.”
Their favourite song is the foxtrot classic Some Enchanted Evening.
The couple were married in 1952 when they lived in Potters Bar before moving to Marlow in Buckinghamshire. After retiring, they moved to Acton in 1989.
They founded the Sudbury branch of the University of the Third Age, organising groups for every type of interest, before scaling back their involvement after 14 years.
They also reignited their passion for dancing, winning competitions with their Ipswich school 40 years after they first strutted their stuff.
“We are just compatible, everything is 50/50 with us,” said Bill.
“We’ve grown to love each other even more the longer we’ve spent together,” added Doreen.
Having supported the work of St Nicholas Hospice Care in Bury St Edmunds for many years – raising around £10,000 in the process – they are inviting donations in place of presents to mark their 60 years together.
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Weather for Sudbury
Friday 24 May 2013
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